Blown Away
by Catheryne
Summary: A defensive Chloe and a somewhat battered Lucas meet up in Smallville a few years later.


Blown Away  
  
Part 1  
  
Betrayal never hurt this bad before.  
  
When he was a kid, he believed that his parents had abandoned him in the mad city. Lucas had felt desperate and alone. He had committed every petty crime known to law enforcement, and then some. At fourteen, Lucas was certain that there was no way to get out of the kind of life he lived. By chance, a man named Lionel, who claimed to be his real father, gave him money for comfort. The blow was bigger than not knowing if anyone was blood related at all. His own father saw him as nothing but collateral. Yet when he met the only family he did not know, Lucas was introduced to the possibility that perhaps not everything was lost.  
  
Lucas had saved most of what Lex had given him, to invest in a future he was unsure of. After all, with his luck, Lionel would kill off Lex and Lucas would be left with nothing.  
  
Who knew that at the time when he was almost to his goal, his blood brother would turn out to be that asp that would poison him?  
  
Lucas jumped off the bus and started running. He ran and ran until the only way to rest was to jump on a train. And then Lucas skipped from vehicle to vehicle, stopping to sleep only when he was certain that his bed would be a moving one that would take him farther from New York every second.  
  
He swore to all the little statues that his poker victims worshipped that he would avenge the treason.  
  
For now, though, Lucas thought, looking outside and seeing the fields of tall grasses, he was going to recuperate. There was nothing greater than to seek vengeance duly energized. The place outside was as different from his usual haunts as night was from day.  
  
Lucas jumped and stumbled out of the back of the truck. A cloud of dust rose around him. He coughed and started jogging towards the cover of the tall grass.  
  
He had not eaten for several days. Lucas knew any other man would have fainted long before. But he was Lucas Luthor, who ran away from disaster by running towards the root of it all. A man like him would stand tall and firm, unwavering.  
  
Before he hit the ground, Lucas could his voice commanding himself to stay standing tall.  
  
~~  
  
Chloe pushed the volume of the radio on her car. She kept one hand on the wheel as she cruised through the fields heading back to Smallville. Man, she had missed this! Despite being mere kilometers apart, Metropolis and Smallville were so different. Chloe could breathe in Smallville without the fear of clogging her air pipes.  
  
This was the only consolation to the likely hell she would encounter on this return. How often had she told herself for the past two years that she would never come back to Kansas? It had been odd for her dad. But then, Gabe Sullivan did not understand what had transpired between her and Clark.  
  
Metropolis had not been home to her in two years. College had beautiful. She truly felt that she would remember those four years in the university for the rest of her life. They were her dream come true. Clark had been an amazing boyfriend and a supportive best friend. He had been with her every step of her time as editor of the collegiate newspaper.  
  
When she had been a sophomore, Pete called her and asked her how it felt to finally own Clark Kent. She remembered laughingly scolding him for his use of words. And Pete informed her that they were Clark's terms. Apparently, the farmboy who once panted after the brunette princess and ignored the blonde thought of himself as hers alone. Chloe had grinned. She was flattered.  
  
She should have known that early that she was not going to fuck up. She was not used to perfection and she would sooner or later find a way to ruin it. Just because she would never be at peace when she had nothing to worry about.  
  
What was it with Chloe Sullivan that made her feel empty during the four dream years with the boy she always wanted? Right before graduation, when she talked to Pete, she snapped. Her best friend dropped a few hints that the night of the graduation ball, Clark was going to give her something that would make her the most ecstatic woman in the world.  
  
Chloe knew the character she had been playing for the past few years. Only one thing would make that woman ecstatic.  
  
And so right after graduation, Chloe packed her suitcases and ran. An opportunity somewhere far, far away, she told Clark in her letter. The job was so good, the journalistic mission so quixotic, that she asked him not to wait. It was the best way she thought to break up with him. At the particular moment of the letter's inception, it sounded great. An hour into the flight to London, Chloe realized what a stupid excuse it had been.  
  
By that time though, it was too late. She had taken the relationship that Clark had eagerly devoted all his efforts to, wrapped it up in newsprint, and threw it out. And Chloe had been too scared to come back or even call to apologize.  
  
Now they were both career people and she had never talked to Clark since the day she left. From what she learned from Pete, Clark had been furious up to the last conversation they had about her. Clark was now involved with a coworker, but Pete still did not know if he had forgiven and forgotten.  
  
Chloe was going stag to Pete and Lana's wedding, with every bit of possibility that she would run into Clark and his girlfriend. This was going to be such a lovely reunion.  
  
It did not help that Chloe had never had a serious relationship after Clark Kent. She moved on without moving on. Clark was better. He had been hung up; he had been angry; he had worn his anger out and found a new love.  
  
She should have taken Lana's advice cloaked as a joke. Chloe could afford to pay a guy to pretend to be her boyfriend.  
  
She had to push it behind her. Chloe bobbed her head to the beat of the music until she saw her mobile phone vibrate on the dashboard. Chloe reached for it.  
  
"Hey Pete! Yeah. I'm on my way."  
  
"Well that's good to hear. They're here."  
  
A turn to the left and she was now on Kent property.  
  
"How does he look?"  
  
"He looks contented. Sad thing is, he's going out with you."  
  
Chloe's brows furrowed. "Pete, do you mean he thinks that we're still together?" That did not sound like Clark. Then again, who knew what the meteor rocks did to his brain?  
  
There was a chuckle at the other end of the line. Chloe sighed in relief. "No, Chlo! Just that this new girl of his talks, walks, and eats like you do. That's her third taco right there."  
  
"Pete!" Chloe giggled, thankful for the humor. "You are crazy!"  
  
"Crazy or not, that's the truth."  
  
"Say hello to La-" There was a patch of black out there where it should not be. Chloe slowed her car and saw the boot peeking out of the grasses. "Oh my God," she whispered.  
  
"What is it?" Silence. "Chloe, you sound like you're going to do something." The only sound from Chloe's side was of the car dying and the slamming of the car door. "Where are you? That way, we know where to look for your stubborn head."  
  
"Pete, I gotta go. I'll be a little late."  
  
Chloe tossed the phone to the passenger seat of the car and ran towards the prone figure on the ground.  
  
"Hey! Hello!" she yelled, seeking response.  
  
She dropped to her knees and took both ankles in her hands. And then she pulled. The body moved three inches. She took a deep breath and pulled again with all her might.  
  
Chloe peered at the face of the man. She recognized the guy. She never met him personally, but his pictures were enough to stamp his image in her brain. "Lucas Dunleavy?" she breathed. 


End file.
